Beautiful Russian choral music from the 15th to the 20th century by famous composers such as Rachmaninoff, KastalskiStyles vary from contemporary Russian a cappella choirs, to Byzantine and Gregorian-influenced singing.

Reviews

hymns of Mother Russia

Though subject to many influences through the years, the music of the Russian church has changed very little: instruments have always been banned from religious services, and the human voice is central. Three different choirs are involved in this survey which, in an interesting twist, is programmed in reverse chronological order, with the newest music first. Counterpoint as we know it has mostly passed this music--derived from Eastern/Byzantine chant rather then Roman/Gregorian--by, and there is little difference between the periods, to my ear. In any compilation of this type, some tracks will be more effective than others, but it's easy enough to move along to the next when a few sopranos get edgy. I normally gripe about the lack of texts, but in a way you don't need them here...the sound generates its own self-contained and timeless world.
Submitted on 09/02/10 by Jim D.